Sleep apnea mounts car crash risk

Washington, Feb 20 (UNI) A breathing disorder that might rupture your life forever.

Sleep apnea - a breathing disorder that disrupts sleep - might double the risk of being in a car crash involving personal injury.

''We were startled by the number of crashes, but even more surprised about the severity of the crashes and how many involved personal injury,'' Science Daily quoted author Najib Ayas of the Vancouver Coastal Health Sleep Disorders Program as saying.

Sleep apnea causes excessive daytime sleepiness. Even those patients with fairly mild sleep apnea had an increased risk of serious crashes, according to the study conducted on nearly 1,600 people.

''The patients might not be aware of the potential driving hazards caused by sleep apnea,'' stated John Fleetham, UBC Professor of Medicine and co-author of the study.

Given the increased risk of crashes in patients with sleep apnea, its important for people to be assessed for this common disorder for which there are several effective treatments available.

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